Jake Shorrocks agrees new deal at Newcastle Thunder

Newcastle Thunder have announced that half-back Jake Shorrocks has signed a new two-year deal with the club.

The former Wigan youngster joins team-mate Josh Woods in committing to the club for the next two campaigns.

Shorrocks, 26, originally joined Newcastle ahead of the 2021 season, and went on to make 17 appearances for the club in his first campaign, scoring four tries over the course of the year.

Playing 41 games for Wigan in all competitions after making his first team debut in June 2016, Shorrocks gained further experience of the top flight on loan at Salford in 2018 and has played a total of 37 Super League games.

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Jake Shorrocks on new deal

He said: “Last year was about me getting back to enjoying my rugby after a bit of a stop-start time with Wigan with injuries and things like that. So, playing pretty much a full season was really good.

“Freddy and Denis said mid-season that they wanted to keep me on board.  There were some things they had to work out around going full-time. But from those chats I knew I wanted to stay and be part of the project and hopefully take the club to where they want to be at.

“With my new deal and moving back to full-time, I think we’ve got to aim for the stars for next season. We’ve recruited well with some really good players with Super League experience. I think if we’re not aiming for the top end of the Championship, then we are under-selling ourselves.”

Head coach Eamon O’ Carroll on latest deal

Head coach Eamon O’ Carroll said: “Retaining Josh and the pairing of him and Woodsy (Josh Woods) was immensely important. It was something we wanted to get done right throughout the season.

“We knew straight away that there is a long-term goal with them and their partnership. We’ve added a little bit around that, bringing in Mullen and I’m really excited about our spine. They all know each other; they have played with each other and think we can help them develop.

“I am excited to see what Shoz can do next year. He enjoyed his time here because we managed to give him an opportunity.

“I know the quality that’s in him and I ‘m really glad we got to keep hold of him.  I think he is going to be a great player for the club, not just next year but for the years to come as well.”